Stan's Health Blog

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Nowadays being an optician is better than ever. This is because the amount of people needing glasses and
contact lenses has skyrocketed thanks to the excessive use of PCs and the variety of strains introduced to our eyes on a daily basis. Furthermore, people seem to totally neglect taking care of their eyes as if having imperfect vision and wearing glasses is something normal and unavoidable. Well it actually isn't.

There are a variety of natural measures that can be taken to prevent or treat the loss of eyesight. Using your eyes the way they are meant to be used is just the starting point (I will discuss this in a later post). You can also eat an eye-healthy diet since there are quite a few nutrients that are crucial for your vision. Additionally, you can do something even more effective- exercise your eyes.

Yes there are exercises that can improve your eyesight just like exercising a certain muscle in the gym can improve its condition. Actually, your vision is indeed dependent on the muscles in your eyes. These muscles are called the ciliary muscles and are responsible for your ability to focus on near and far objects. The tricky part is that these muscles need to be not only strong, but perfectly balanced. For example, if the muscles responsible for focusing on near objects are stronger than the ones focusing on distant, you will have nearsightedness also known as myopia.

One more point I would like to mention before getting to the exercises is that when you start using glasses your problems will only get deeper. Just think about it. If your legs are weak would it make more sense to exercise them so that they get stronger, or you would jump in a wheelchair and let them get weaker and weaker over time? Glasses to your eyes are like a wheelchair to your legs.

The exercises you will find on this list consist of flexing and relaxing your eyes, focusing on different objects and performing a variety of stimulations of your eye’s muscles. So without further ado here is the list of 5 exercises that improve your vision.

The Exercises

First I would like to start with an eye relaxation technique that you need to perform before and after your workout routine, and at any moment you feel you are putting your eyes under strain.

This technique is called Palming

Palming will allow your optic nerve and the muscles of your eyes to relax by blocking all outside stimulus.

You start off by rubbing your palms to warm them up a little. Afterwards, place your hands over your eyes so that your palms are covering them and your fingers are touching your forehead. Make sure that no light reaches your eyes and then close them. Don’t apply any pressure on them (to do this place your palms in a cup-like shape).

Hold this position for 3-5 minutes. During that time take deep diaphragmatic breaths as if you are meditating. Focus on your breathing and imagine complete darkness.

The first real exercise that I will introduce is the figure eight exercise.

It is simple and convenient but it has great benefits. It greatly improves your eye muscles’ flexibility and endurance.

After relaxing your eyes by palming sit 10 feet away from a wall. Now imagine a huge figure of the number 8 on the wall. Next, turn the figure on its side, resembling the symbol for infinity ∞.

Next, you need to trace the number slowly with both eyes. After doing it one direction for 2-3 minutes do it in the other for exactly the same time (remember - balance is key).

Forget about any feeling of awkwardness in the beginning and stick with it, the reward is worth it.

Near and far focusing

This is a great exercise that will improve on the ability of your eye the rapidly change its focus from a subject that is near to a subject that is far away from you.

First, make sure there is an object 10 or 20 feet away from you. Now get into a comfortable position so that this object is to your front. Sitting, standing it doesn't matter as long as you feel comfortable.

Next, stretch one of your arms out in front of you in a “thumbs-up” position. Put your thumb about 10 inches in front of you and focus on it.

Now focus on your thumb and start breathing deeply and diaphragmatically. With every breath switch your focus from your thumb to the object that is 10 to 20 feet away from you and back.

Once you get used to doing this exercise you will find that you can focus really fast without having to squint for a few seconds. Come to think of it, this skill alone can potentially save your life! On some very weird instances at least.

Zoom in Zoom Out

This is another exercise that helps improve your ability to focus on near and far objects. It is one of my favorites because you can really feel your eyes working hard and improving.

Once again start by sitting or standing comfortably. Now just like in the near and far focusing exercise stretch your arm and hold your thumb up.

This time however, your arm won’t be static. Instead once you focus on your thumb, start bringing it slowly to your face without losing your focus.

Once it gets to around 3 inches (or to the point where you can’t focus anymore) from your eyes start stretching your arm out again.

Do this for 3 to 5 minutes depending on what feels right to you.

Side to side, up, down and rotation

Imagine the face of a clock on the wall in front of you. Now start by moving your eyes from one side of the clock to the other i.e. from 3 to 9 a clock and back. Do this up to 20 times.

After you finished the side to side movements, start moving your eyes up and down i.e. from 6 to 12 and back. Do this 20 times. Don’t forget to breathe deeply during all of the exercises.

After you are finished, rest for 20 seconds and start rotating your eyes around the clock for 20 “laps” clockwise. When you are done with these laps, do 20 more counter-clockwise.

This exercise is one of the hardest and you can use it to finish off your routine.

After you are finished relax your eyes with palming for a few minutes.

Always finish up either with palming or another eye relaxation technique (I promise to introduce a few in a later post).

I hope that this post will lead you to a new attitude towards your eyes and how to take care of them. Your eyes give you so much joy and help you attain so much knowledge that it is a shame if you don’t return the favor. And trust me you don’t do that by putting on the glasses. You can do that by using them correctly, giving them a chance to relax, eating the proper foods that are rich in nutrients that are good for your eyes, and of course by exercising them regularly.

If you want to take the recovery of your eyes a step further I recommend having a look at the Vision without glasses system. It is a system of based on the methods of the famous Dr. William Horatio Bates who was the first to introduce the notion that eyeglasses are bad for your eyes and that imperfect vision can be cured with exercises.

The author, Dr. Duke Peterson, will give you all of the information you need in order to obtain the right knowledge and attitude in order to restore your vision. You will also get daily exercise routines that will take 15-20 minutes of your time.

Some other features I like are:

The free “Kick-Ass” eye charts you get that help you measure your results at any time.

The amazing customer service- you can send your questions at any time and get them answered directly by the author of the book. Having your personal consultant at arm’s length could be more beneficial than you would think.

You also get the original Dr. Bates’ book for free.

I personally think that all of this is at a great price ($37) relative to the results thousands of people have reported after following the system and to the amazing feeling that reducing your diopter will give you. Therefore, I advise you to at least have a look at it and decide for yourself if it’s worth it.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Many people suffering from insomnia spend their lives looking for a cure without ever realizing that the reason behind their disorder may hide in their Circadian Rhythm.

What Is The Circadian Rhythm

The Circadian Rhythm is represented by the physical and behavioral changes that occur daily. This 24 hour cycle is controlled by our biological clock and is responsible for things like sleep patterns, hormone production, body temperature and others (I only named these 2 because they are directly linked to insomnia).

What Influences Your Circadian Rhythm

Perhaps the most important influences on your Circadian Rhythm come from sunlight and physical activity.

The amount of sunlight you are exposed to and your levels of activity regulate hormone production and body temperature. This is what makes the human specie designed to be active during the day and inactive at night (at least that is how it's supposed to be).

The Connection Between The Circadian Rhythm and Insomnia

Melatonin

One of the most important signals that sunlight gives to your body is to produce or to reduce the amounts of the hormone Melatonin. This hormone is responsible for putting you to sleep and keeping you that way. So the higher the amount of Melatonin you have the sleepier you will feel. Obviously, people who suffer from insomnia have low levels of this so called vampire hormone (because its only produced in darkness)

The Circadian Rhythm is responsible for the pattern of Melatonin synthesis, and as we mentioned sunlight affects your Circadian Rhythm. This happens by reducing the Melatonin levels whenever you are exposed to sunlight and increasing them whenever you are in a dark place. So if you want to keep your rhythm in tact and sleep good, you better make sure your room is dark enough. Even the slightest lights can interrupt the production of Melatonin.

Body Temperature

Contrary to what most people believe, the human body doesn't stay at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit all day long. In fact, the Circadian Rhythm represents a number of peaks and drops in your body's temperature. These changes are usually within 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit and are determined from sunlight (once again), room temperature and from physical activity.

What does that have to do with insomnia? Well you are designed to go to sleep in one of those low body temperature periods, and normally they occur during the night and at noon when its time for a nap. Remember- the lower your temperature gets the better you will sleep.

The weird thing about this is that the higher temperatures you reach during the peak periods, the lower you will get during the cold periods. Therefore, you need to aim mostly at doing things that will increase your temperature at the periods of 9-12 AM and 4-8 PM. And yes this means you need to exercise! I would suggest a light session of walking or jogging in the morning (just to get you warmed-up), and a full 30-45 minute workout in the evening.

While it is not as important as reaching a high temperature peak, it also pays to cool your room before going to sleep. This will obviously help you reach a lower body temperature. Of course don't take things too far, I don't want you to catch a flu!

Conclusion

Now that you know how the Circadian Rhythm works and how it is connected to insomnia, you can use the tips I gave you to tune your own rhythm in a way that will get you back to being a fully functional, insomnia-free human being.

Disclaimer

I would like to state that I am not a certified doctor, nutritionist or aging expert. All of the advice and recommendetions are just this- advice based on personal experience and not on education. My goal is to help you become the best version of yourself by being healthy and strong both mentally and physically. However what you do after reading the information in this blog is up to you. Thank you for reading and good luck!